Decision of Disciplinary Hearing – Iain Henderson

Adam Redmond

19 February 2019

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Disciplinary Decision – Iain Henderson

Iain Henderson of Ulster Rugby faced a Disciplinary Hearing today via video conference. A Disciplinary Committee met in Edinburgh (Scotland) to consider the citing against Henderson (No 5) of Ulster Rugby which occurred as a result of the fixture with Ospreys Rugby on Friday, February 15, 2019.

The Player was reported by the Citing Commissioner in charge for alleged infringement of Law 9.11 – Players must not do anything that is dangerous to others. The charge related to an incident in the 14th minute of the game in clearing out a ruck of the aforementioned fixture at Brewery Field, Bridgend.

The Disciplinary Committee comprising of Roddy Dunlop QC (Chair), Ian Douglas and Beth Dickens (all Scotland) reviewed the video clips and reports, and heard explanations from the player and his representatives.

The Player had been attempting a legitimate manoeuvre which was destabilised by another player. The Player admitted that an act of foul play had occurred, as his arm had been around the shoulder and neck of Ospreys No 7.

The Panel agreed that an act of foul play was shown, but considered that it merited a yellow card only given the limited ability of the Player to take avoiding action in a short space of time. As the act did not merit an on-field Red Card, the Citing complaint was not upheld.